


A Moment Alone

by Elwyne



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Missing Scene, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-20
Updated: 2015-02-20
Packaged: 2018-03-13 23:22:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3400082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elwyne/pseuds/Elwyne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Having received Alec's text and rushed from the courthouse, Ellie has some time to think before he wakes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Moment Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Spoiler for Broadchurch S2E6

Ellie stopped at the doorway, breathless from her flight. She was furious with him, terrified for him, hurt by his exclusion, and she paused to check her emotions before entering his room. He was alive, that was the important thing. That, and he'd left her name on a list of allowed visitors.

Composing herself, Ellie stepped into the room. Alec was still asleep. Her shoulders slumped again, the need for appearances faded. She crossed slowly to the bed and gazed down at him: her supplanter, her superior, her antagonist, her only friend. 

He had color in his cheeks as she'd never seen. He slept easily, his breathing relaxed, brow smooth and free of worry. The mother in her longed to touch him, brush back his tousled hair, feel for fever in his cheeks. Instead she found a chair and sat, her eyes fixed on his face.

"You bastard," she said quietly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She knew, of course, and grudgingly respected his intense need for privacy. She'd needed it herself these last months: a cushion of distance between herself in the world, a balm of silence for her wounds. If she'd had to do something like this, who could she have told? Not Joe, of course. Not Beth. Maybe not even Tom. Lucy, she supposed; if something happened to her, her children would be dependent on their flighty aunt. Ellie shuddered and pushed the thought away. Would she tell Alec if she thought she might die? 

Probably not. There was something tenuous about their relationship, a delicate balance that too much candor would upset. How long had she known him before she learned of his divorce? Before she learned he had a child? He'd known everything about her, of course; her life was an open book, before.

Before. Was that her life now? Before Joe and after Joe? Before Danny and after? Before Alec? Before Broadchurch? Where was the line? When she learned of Joe's guilt? When Joe murdered her best friend's child? When Joe and Danny began a relationship she could never have condoned? When she married and bore children to a man who could do what Joe had done?

Alec stirred, interrupting her thoughts. She wiped her eyes and frowned, ready to deliver her displeasure, but he did not wake. Ellie eased back in her chair. Alec frowned in his sleep. He seemed to be dreaming.

"What would I do without you?" Ellie whispered, half-aware. It was only Alec that had kept her sane these last months. Only Alec who looked at her with sympathy, who spoke to her without recrimination. If he died now - Tears stung her eyes, and she wiped them brusquely away. The man has a daughter, she told herself harshly. She needs him more than you do. What right do you think you have to even be here?

And yet her name was on the list.

Alec's brow furrowed. Ellie watched, tense, ready to call for help should it be needed. He mumbled something unintelligible. His eyes fluttered open, and he drew a breath. Ellie stood where he could see her, arranging her face in a reproachful scowl.

"A text?"


End file.
